Welcome to Wherever You Are
by meaghan1114
Summary: Eli's working as a bartender, while trying to break into the music world. Then he meets Clare, a journalist trying to get her big break. Can they help each other get what they want? Will they fall for each other along the way?
1. Chapter 1

Fuck. Five more hours left of my shift. How the hell was I supposed to get through yet another night of sloppy people drunk off their asses?

I hate bartending. Sure, I was good at it; I'm a people person and can handle the bar crowd fairly well considering I used to be a part of it. But honestly, the only reason I'm doing this is because I needed the money and got better tips here than waiting tables.

My name is Eli. I usually wear black, not because I'm Goth, just because I like the color. I drive a vintage hearse that I've had since high school, Morty. My best friend is Adam Torres; we've been close since grade 11. I'm in a band. I play the guitar and lead vocals. Adam's my bassist and his brother, Drew, plays the drums. We have plans to add another guitarist soon, too. We just held auditions a few days ago and were narrowing down the hopefuls.

I looked around the club and saw a gorgeous girl pretending to be into the terrible cover band that was playing tonight. My band usually plays here on Fridays, but the other bartender called out. The girl was obviously only here to humor her friend who was also really pretty, I just didn't find her as interesting as the first girl.

I snapped out of my slight daydream and realized that a crowd was starting to form around the bar. _Time to go to work, _I thought to myself. After everyone had their drinks, I went back to people watching. I saw the girl that I had noticed before making her way to the bar.

She had on skinny jeans with a pink and green floral shirt, a pink sweater with flats. She wore her hair in tight curls that reached her jaw. She looked nervous and innocent. The bar flies and scantily clad women surrounding her didn't seem to faze her.

_Don't screw this up, Eli._

She sat down at a stool, her friend nowhere in sight. I walked over to her wiping my hands on a rag.

"What can I get for you, dollface?"

'_Dollface'? Really? What's my problem?_

"Hmm," She started, "What's the best you can do without alcohol?" She asked.

I smirked. "Coke..?" I said questioningly.

"That'd be great, thanks."

I went and grabbed her coke and brought it back to her. That's when I noticed her eyes. I have no idea how I didn't see them earlier. They were giant blue oceans.

"Are you okay?" I heard her say. Pulling me out of my daze.

"Oh. Umm, yea. Sorry but you have really pretty eyes" I said handing over her drink.

"T-thanks. Umm, I'm Clare." She said stumbling over her words.

"Eli. So what's with the boring old coke? You got something against booze?"

"I've had some bad drunken experiences that I like to avoid reliving. My friend Alli on the other hand is probably in a corner somewhere sucking some guy's face off. She'll wind up going back to his place leaving me to fend for myself and find a ride home" She said quickly sounding slightly annoyed.

I thought for a minute.

"I could give you a ride home. That is, if you don't mind waiting another…." I checked my cell phone. 11:48. "…hour or so"

"That'd be great. Thank you so much!" She beamed at me.

We made small talk for a while as the crowd thinned and people started heading home.

We were in the car when she started up another conversation.

"So, what do you do in during the day? You know, when you're not bartending." She asked.

"I, uhh, I have a band. We're trying to work things out now to get some of our songs on iTunes. And then there's always taking pretty girls out to lunch. In fact, I just met a girl tonight. She has the most beautiful eyes and I she took me up on an offer to drive her home, but she's way out of my league. She'd never go out to lunch with me." I said hoping she'd pick up my vibe.

"That's so cool!" She exclaimed. "I'm a music journalist. I love spotting up and coming bands. And, as for your predicament… go for it. You never know what could happen when you take a risk." And then she caught me completely off guard with a wink.

I, Eli Goldsworthy, was going weak in the knees for a girl I just met a few hours ago. What's going on with the world?

"Well, Clare, would you like to join me for lunch, say tomorrow at noon?" I asked her nervously.

"Well, I am a very busy person, but I think I might be able to squeeze you in" She said sarcastically.

"Great" I said grinning. Since when do I grin? "It's a date… err, no. It's a plan, a…ummm a meeting, an appointment, a -"

"No," She started "It's a date"

I finally realized that my hearse, which she surprisingly didn't have a problem with, had stopped in front of her complex. She took down my number and entered hers in my phone. Then, she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

"Pick me up tomorrow?" she asked.

I just nodded, not able to form words at this point.

I watched as she made her way out of my car and into her building.

_Shit, _I thought_, I need to get my act together._

I figured I'd get a hold of Adam once I got home. I knew he was at the bar tonight but I didn't see him after meeting up with Clare.

I was in a daze the whole way home. I couldn't believe what this girl was doing to me. I swear she turned my brain to mush. Before I knew it I was home sitting on the leather couch in my apartment dialing Adam's number on my cell phone.

"Hey man. This better be good. You know it's like 2 am, right?" He said, sounding groggy.

"Yea, sorry about that. I, uh, I met this girl tonight and I have no idea what to do. She's so gorgeous, man. I swear I've been converted from 'angry rocker' to 'total sap' in one night thanks to this girl."

I didn't hear any response from the other line. I waited a few seconds and heard a small snore.

"ADAM!"

"Huh, what…oh! Eli, I'm sorry man. I might a girl last night too. And…uh.. let's just say she wore me out."

"Ugh" I groaned, "I'll call you in the morning."

I went to my kitchen and got a glass of water before deciding to turn in for the night. Just as I was stripping down to my boxers, I heard my phone ring.

_What the fuck does Adam want? I thought he was going to sleep. _I thought to myself.

I looked down at the caller ID:

Clare Edwards.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for the reviews on the first Chapter (: I really like this story but I'm not so sure where it's going. PM me with any suggestions or ideas. Here's Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: Me no own-y Degrassi**

I rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand. 10:16. It was still early but I decided to get up anyway.

Walked into my kitchen and started a pot of coffee. I sat down at my small breakfast nook and opened my laptop. I logged onto Facebook and opened up the New York Times website to see if anything important happened. I ignored the pointless notifications nad noticed I had a friend request. Clare Edwards. I clicked her name and was brought to her profile. I accepted the request an went to pour myself some coffee.

As soon as I sat down my phone started to ring. I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, It's Adam"

"Oh hey man. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I just woke up. Did you need something last night? I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

"Oh no, it's fine you can just fall the fuck asleep as I pour my heart and soul out to you. No big deal" I responded sarcastically.

"Fuck you" he said laughing.

"Yeah, no… I just met this girl last night and she's so out of my league. And I'm just not sure what to do…"

"Just be yourself. Be the charming guy that has girls swooning over him left and right. Listen, I've got another call so I'm gonna go. Call me if you need anything else"

"Alright. Bye Adam" I said before hanging up.

I walked over to the sink and set down my mug. I looked at the clock on my stove telling my it was already a quarter to 11. I walked down the hall and into the master bathroom. I turned on the shower and waited a few minutes before stripping down. I stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over me.

**Clares POV**

I woke up around 8:30. I quickly called Alli knowing she'd be awake.

"Hey Clare! What's up?" She answered cheerfully.

"Nothing much. I have a lunch date later with this guy I met yesterday and I have absolutely nothing to wear. Can we take a shopping trip?"

"Okay. Sounds great. I'll pick you up around 9 and we should be back around 11ish"

"Okay, see you then" I said clicking the 'end call' button.

I took a shower, curled my hair, got dressed, did my make up and ate some breakfast. By the time I was done it was already 8:55. I checked my Facebook app on my phone and saw that Eli had accepted my request and posted on my wall. It said "Can't wait for lunch later (: I'll pick you up right at noon"

I smiled at the cute post and liked it before leaving and heading downstairs to meet Alli who had just buzzed to let me know she was waiting. I got in her car and as soon as we pulled away, she started interrogating me. "Okay, so who's the lucky guy?"

I sighed and pulled out my phone. I looked through his Facebook photos to find a good one. When we hit a stoplight, I showed it to her

"OH MY GOD, CLARE! THE HOT BARTENDER!" She squealed.

I blushed bright red and nodded. She let out a high pitched screech-y yell.

"Okay¸ okay. Enoguh about me. Where did you sleep last night?" I asked my best friend suggestivel I asked my best friend suggestively.

"In my own bed, thank you very much." I raised my eyebrow at her "Okay, so I did meet a guy, Adam, but he said he thought I was really pretty and really interesting and he didn't want to blow his chance with me by sleeping together. So we hung out and talked at his place for a while and then he drove me home." She looked over and beamed at me.

I was happy for her. Alli was always getting herself stuck in dead-end relationships that were jam-paxked with drama. I was glad she finally met someone who sounded decent.

We finally arrived at the mall. We were in and out pretty quickly. I was able to find what I needed pretty easily. I got an off-white blazer, and sparkly black tank top, a pair of black skinny jeans and a cute silver necklace. I planned to wear my zebra- print flats that I already had.

When Alli and I got back to my apartment, I got dressed in my new outfit and sat down at my vanity to do my makeup. She came up behind me with a curling iron and started fixing my hair before I could even ask her to do so.

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around" I said giggling.

"Yea, yea. Just stop moving before I burn your neck with this thing."

Once she was done with my hair, she said her goodbyes and told me to call her later with all of the details of my date with "Mr. Hotty Pants".

I decided to check my email before I left and see if my boss had given me any assignments for the week.

I only had one. Some band was playing at a bar downtown on Friday night and I needed to go see them and write a 1000 word article for Sunday. That seemed easy enough.

My intercom buzzed. I walked over to my front door.

"Eli?" I asked

"Yep. It's me. I'm downstairs, but I'm double parked, so not to rush you but we've gotta hurry."

"Okay. I'll be right down."

I walked over and closed my laptop and shut off the lights before locking my door and heading downstairs.

I saw Eli waiting in the lobby. He had on a snug black tee shirt and a leather jacket, black jeans and combat boots. Damn, he looked good.

**Eli's POV**

I smirked. She was checking me out.

"It's not polite to stare, Blue Eyes."

She blushed and looked down.

I walked up to her and put my hand under her chin forcing her to look at me.

"It's okay, I know my hotness is distracting" I said sarcastically lightening the mood.

She giggled and playfully pushed me away.

"C'mon, let's go" she said.

She was quiet in the car. "Wanna play 20 questions?" I suggested.

"Sure. You first."

"Okay. We'll start it off easy. Favorite Color?"

"Green. Are you a boob guy or an ass guy?" I was impressed by her bluntness.

"I'm actually more of an eyes guy." She smiled. "Any pets?"

"I have a fish" she chuckled. "His name is Dinner. What's your all-time favorite book? "

"Where the Wild Things Are" I said honestly. "Favorite kind of music?"

"I like a little bit of everything, but mostly Indie stuff and like alternative rock" I smiled. Maybe she'd like my band. "You mentioned you had a band. What do you play?"

"I'm the vocalist and I play guitar" She looked impressed. "When was the last time you had butterflies in you stomach?"

She blushed for a minute and then continued, "When I got out of the elevator and saw you waiting for me" I looked over and smiled at her. "What's the last book you read?"

"Scruffy's Big Adventure. I was watching my niece the other day and she wanted a bedtime story." I explained sheepishly.

"Aww. That's sweet." She said smiling.

"Okay, question time. Best thing you know how to cook?"

"Hmm" she thought for a minute. "Pancakes"

"Well we should've had a breakfast date then." I smirked

"You think so" she said sarcastically. "So, how'd you get interested in music?"

Good Question. "My mom was in one of those 80s hair bands. That's how she and my dad, Bullfrog, met actually. He's a Radio Host. Hmmmm. Why music journalism? Why not just be a regular journalist?"

"My dad was a conductor for an orchestra. I always loved music but I have zero musical talent, so I chose the next best thing"

"That's cool. Well it looks like we're here"

We were at Grill Works, a gourmet grilled cheese shop, which just so happened to be my favorite restaurant.

I walked around Morty, opened Clare's door and grabbed her hands as we walked into the restaurant.

We were seated quickly and began reviewing the menu. The waitress came over and took our drink orders.

"So, what are you gonna have?" I asked her.

"I think grilled cheese and tomato. It sounds yummy. How about you?"

"Grilled cheese and bacon" I said.

"Oh I didn't see that"

"Oh yea. It's listed as heart attack on a plate" I said sarcastically.

"Mmmmm" she said "sounds good."

The waitress came with our drinks and took our food orders. We made small talk about our childhoods and found out that we both went Degrassi. We never really met because she was two years younger than me.

**Clare's POV**

It was so weird to think that Eli and I went to the same school and at the same time too. I really wish we had met earlier. I really liked being around him.

The waitress came around and set our food down in front of us. I dug into my sandwich and it was like heaven in my mouth.

"Oh my God, Eli. You have to try this." I said handing him half my sandwich. He took a small bite, chewed and swallowed.

"That is good" he agreed. "Here, try mine." His sandwich was good too. I think this is becoming my new favorite restaurant.

I was really glad, too, that Eli and I were comfortable enough around each other to share our food. I know I've only known him for a day but I could really see the two of us going somewhere.

**Eli's POV**

This lunch is probably the best date I've ever had. I really like Clare. She's so down to Earth and sweet and I can tell she's really caring and understanding. I can't wait to tell the guys about her. I know they'll like her.

I paid the bill after a small argument with Clare. I insisted that since I asked her out and since she was a woman that it was my job to pay. We were on our way out of the restaurant when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I checked the caller ID; it was Adam.

_This better be good. He knows I'm on my date, _I thought.

I turned to Clare. "I gotta take this real quick" I said apologetically.

Adam told me that we had band practice. They had narrowed my three new guitar choices down to two and wanted them both to jam with us.

I was kinda upset. I wanted more time with Clare.

Then it hit me.

"Hey, uh.. Clare, I've kind of got an emergency band practice. Would you… would you like to tag along. We can hang out some more afterwards if it's not too late"

Her face instantly lit up. "I would love to" She beamed.

"Great. You can meet Drew and Adam."

Drew worked at a recording studio so he was able to get us rehearsal space in those awkward times of the day, like now, 2 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon.

We got in the hearse and I started the engine.

"Hey Eli?"

I turned to face Clare. "Yea?"

She didn't say anything. Instead she leaned in closer to me a pressed her lips to mine. Her arms found their way around my neck and mine settled on her waste. The kiss was slow but passionate. She pulled away before things went a little too far.

"Thanks for lunch" she said.

"Anytime. And, as long as you keep repaying me like that," I said, "I'll take you out to lunch every day" I smirked. She blushed and leaned in for another kiss. It was sweet and chaste but full of emotion, just like the first. We broke the kiss and I started to pull away from the restaurant.

Her hand found mine and they stayed intertwined the whole ride to the studio.

This day just keeps getting better.

**AN:**

**1) Adam's not transgender. I don't have enough experience with that kind of a thing to accurately incorperate in my story**

**2) The two guitarists are Sav and KC (: I'm still not sure which one to chose. I would love to have Sav in the story just because I love him. But KC is easier to write in because then I could wriite about him and Jenna and the baby... Lemme know whatcha think**

**3) Is ther too much cursing in this story where I should change it to M?**

**4 and last) REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I'm not gonna be like '10 reviews for the next chapter' but reviews will make the chapters come sooner. And probably better too because they're all motivational and whatnot. Okay Im gonna shut up now **

**Thanks for reading (:**


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